Gov. Mike Parson says he’ll listen to voters on Medicaid expansion. It’s about time

Is the groundwork finally being laid for Medicaid expansion in Missouri? Perhaps.

The latest semi-convert to the cause is Republican Gov. Mike Parson. He still opposes growing the government health insurance program for the poor, but now says he’ll implement Medicaid expansion if voters tell him to, and he’s reelected.

“That’s what I’m supposed to do is uphold the will of the people,” Parson recently told reporters. “That’s what I intend to do, regardless of whether I agree with the issue or whether I don’t.”

Of course, politics likely played a role in motivating Parson to come around to this point of view. Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway, the governor’s likely Democratic opponent next year, recently suggested Parson would not implement expanded Medicaid even if voters put it in the state’s constitution.

Galloway’s concern is not unfounded. Other governors — former Maine Gov. Paul LePage is the goofiest example — have resisted Medicaid expansion programs approved by voters.

Parson now is on record rejecting that approach. This is good news from a governor who hasn’t always respected the will of the voters.

Remember, Parson and other Republicans began talking about undoing ethics reforms just a few minutes after voters overwhelmingly approved the Clean Missouri referendum in 2018. As a state legislator, Parson was instrumental in repealing some restrictions on dog-breeding operations. The will of the voters didn’t matter in that case, either.

To his credit, the governor now seems to recognize — somewhat belatedly — that the voters’ views matter.

Is it too much to hope that Parson and other Republicans now will start to understand just how popular expanded Medicaid is? Voters in conservative states, including Utah, Idaho and Nebraska, have approved it. Polls suggest Missouri voters would support it, too.

More than 200,000 Missourians who now lack health coverage could qualify for the program if the state expanded eligibility, according to some estimates.

Supporters of Medicaid expansion want to embed the program in the state’s constitution, where it would be beyond the reach of state lawmakers. A group called Healthcare for Missouri is gathering petition signatures to put the amendment on the ballot next year.

There is still a way for the governor and the General Assembly to dodge a public vote on Medicaid expansion. They could enact it in the 2020 legislative session. That would give Republicans a chance to fashion a program more in line with their approach to government health insurance.

But if lawmakers fail to expand Medicaid — or if legislators attach too many unworkable conditions — Missouri voters can and should take matters in their own hands.

Other states increasingly understand the value of expanding Medicaid, the federal-state program to provide health insurance for the poor. Missouri has postponed this decision for far too long.

The governor’s public promise to listen to voters in his state on this critical issue is an encouraging sign. Missourians should back a ballot measure and hold Parson to that pledge.